The Royal Malaysian Police is trimming down its operations – no, it’s not firing cops, it’s telling the pudgier ones go to the gym and lose a few kilos.
The PDRM’s new Trim N Fit initiative is going to be backed up by the incentive that fat police officers who stay fat will not likely be promoted or confirmed in their posts.
“It’s a pilot project to ensure that policemen stay fit during their service,” Bukit Aman director of management communications Zulkifli Abdullah told The Star Online‘s Nadirah H Rodzi.
“Our main task is to enforce the law and maintain public order. Therefore, we need our men to always be fit.”
Some police officers, he added, were physically fit when they began serving with the PDRM, but some have fallen by the wayside in the years since, mostly because of work stress and poor diets. The imposed discipline of job performance being tied to health is an attempt at a formula to ensure the pounds get off and stay off.
The initiative, launched yesterday, saw 35 officers from the PDRM’s management department drafted to head to the gym and cut down on the teh tarik.
“We are starting with 35 personnel and officers, including myself, from my department first,” Zulkifli said. Trim N Fit will also see collaborative efforts with the Putrajaya and Federal Territory health departments.
After the six-month pilot testing period in Bukit Aman, Trim N Fit is slated to be expanded (no pun intended) nationwide.
“With the right diet, health regime and mindset, we will be able to see the fruits of our labour.
“So far, we have about 11,000 obese personnel and officers but that’s only a conservative number,” Zulkifli said, adding that they expected change within two to three years.
“For those who have been ‘certified’ fit, we will also make random checks to ensure they still are fit after the programme.”
Now look at our header image again and imagine what could be the future of Malaysian law enforcement.
